In the cotton textile industry, using the current processes of producing finished apparel and related goods from raw virgin cotton, 20-49% of the original fibre in the raw material is typically separated as waste in the various processes. Once produced the finished goods have a limited life; when they have ended their useful life they are possibly used as rags for a brief period and then typically discarded to end-up in a landfill or waste incineration facility.
This manufacturing and post consumer waste generated in this way is extensive. According to The Byproducts Association of America, in 1990, approximately 7.7 billion pounds of new and used fabric and clothing and related textile products were discarded.
Cotton agriculture also has a significant impact on the environment and is the highest or second highest agricultural user of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
Our society is becoming increasingly aware of the severity of our environmental problems and in particular the scarcity of appropriate landfill sites, and the deleterious impact of waste incineration, industrial discharges, and the use of pesticides and other chemicals in agriculture. As a result of this increasing awareness it is becoming increasingly important to reduce the amount of waste we generate, recycle more of the waste that is generated, and reduce or eliminate as much toxic chemical use as possible. Governments often regulate these matters making such efforts not only environmentally responsible but often necessary to comply with the law.
The chart below sets out some of various types of manufacturing and post consumer textile wastes along with some current or potential uses of these materials.
______________________________________ MANUFACTURING WASTES Current or Waste type % of crop Potential uses ______________________________________ gin motes 5% Coarse count yarns carding waste (such as for mop heads, drafting waste some upholstery yarns, 5% industrial belting, rope and twine). comber noils 5-7% Paper making. drawing wastes Health and beauty aids. fly waste Upholstery stuffing and bedding. yarn & thread ends 2-3% Stuffing fabric & fabric 8-34% Stuffing trimmings* Total 20-49% of cotton harvested ______________________________________ POST CONSUMER TEXTILE WASTE Waste Type Uses ______________________________________ synthetic producer's Stuffing, felts, waste industrial belting, rope, twine. used clothing Rags. ______________________________________
Only a portion (in some cases very small) of each waste type is being recycled or reused. Much of the cotton waste goes directly to landfills and a large proportion of the gin motes are being ploughed under in farmers fields to eliminate the increasing tipping fees associated with commercial waste disposal.
While there are potential uses for these wastes, unfortunately not all of these wastes are being reused or recycled. Even when these materials are recycled or reused, most of the uses for these wastes are for relatively low value goods which often have a very short useful life. If a higher value and more durable use is found for these wastes, then much more of these wastes will be used--which will reduce the waste stream into landfills and waste incineration facilities, and reduce the amount of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other chemicals used in growing and processing cotton by decreasing the amount of virgin cotton needed for the apparel and related industries.
This invention is the use of any and all of these wastes for the manufacture of yarns of high enough quality, and thus higher value, for use in the garment and related industries. Specifically, this invention involves the use of pre-consumer and post-consumer fabric/apparel waste in the manufacture of high quality yarns using a process that is economically feasible on a commercial scale.
While most of the types of waste materials that are recycled to make these high quality have already been reused or recycled to some extent in other products, most of the uses for these wastes are for very low value goods and only a portion of the wastes are being reused or recycled. While some of these wastes are also being recycled into new yarns, as shown in chart above, these yarns are typically coarse count yarns not suitable for use in the apparel industry, except possibly for use in heavy woven outerwear or sweaters. These conventional uses are definitely lower value uses than the products of this invention.
The process of the subject invention involves making finer count--being 8 count and above--cotton yarns either completely from 100% recycled cotton textile waste, or using a combination of virgin and recycled cotton, together with post-consumer shoddy to fabricate yarns of quality suitable for the apparel and related textile industries.
The principle of this invention is that through processing the waste fibres differently, and by twisting the yarn made from these fibres differently, finer count yarns can be made from 100% cotton textile waste and from blends of 100% cotton and synthetic wastes; and by processing used clothing differently to open the fabric up with less breakage and better parallel alignment of fibres, post-consumer shoddy can also be used when blended with other textile fibre wastes or virgin cotton to make yarns suitable to the apparel industry.